Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan says the government is disappointed with a Federal Court ruling that says it was unreasonable to appoint a third-party manager to Attawapiskat.
The court ruled a third party was the wrong way to address a critical housing shortage on the reserve.
When asked if the manager was a mistake, Duncan said he wanted to “think about that a little more”.
Duncan could not say if the government will appeal the ruling.
Meanwhile, Chiefs of Ontario leader Stan Beardy says the ruling confirms the government’s statements about the crisis were misleading:
“Yeah, I guess what happened in the case of Attawapiskat was they reached out to the general public, to the world, and said we have a desperate situation with housing in the far north. I think what happened was that the department and the federal government used its administrative tools to punish the First Nation for speaking out.”
Beardy says the government has a duty to work with First Nations to see that programs are delivered at the community level.
He adds the court ruling also reinforces the fact that First Nations are capable of managing their own affairs — as long as the government gives them the resources to do it.
(With files from The Canadian Press)